200 MW wind farm planned for Cherokee County 88 turbines north of Marcus to be online by December 2019 

A proposed 200 MW wind farm in Cherokee County – a well kept secret – will be constructed beginning in spring 2019 and online by December 2019, according to developer EDF Renewable

EDF Renewables has signed an agreement to supply Google, a subsidiary company of Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL) with 200 megawatts (MW) of wind energy generated from the new, fast-tracking Glaciers Edge Wind Project north and west of Marcus in Cherokee County.

Benefiting involved land owners bank accounts and spiking County tax revenue when completed, Glaciers Edge Wind Project is expected to create more than 150 jobs during the construction phase, along with millions of dollars injected into the local economy. Once the wind farm comes online, anticipated in December 2019, the additional capacity will help Google reach its goal of purchasing enough renewable energy to match its energy consumption for global operations.

The project progresses as it clears required protocol, including securing rights-of-way and easements from involved landowners (reportedly done), permit approval from the County Planning and Zoning Board ($88,000 permit fee for 88 wind turbines) and Board of Supervisors, also already achieved.

In addition, Supervisors and County Engineer Brandon Billings are charged with improving County roads and enhancing intersections to accommodate heavy truck traffic and their heavy loads as the huge turbine parts are transported to the sites.

Dai Owen, Director, Power Marketing for EDF RE commented, “The strong U.S. wind market relies in part on America’s corporate sector and companies like Google, who through the purchase of wind energy demonstrate leadership in the drive for a low-carbon economy. Their commitment allows Glaciers Edge to proceed, providing an economic boost to the Iowa economy, through new construction and operations jobs, expanded tax base, and recurring, long-term income for participating landowners.

“Renewables from projects like Glaciers Edge bring value to our business as we scale and accelerate investment in the communities where we operate,” said Gary Demasi, Google’s director of global infrastructure. “With solar and wind declining dramatically in cost and propelling significant employment growth, the transition to clean energy is driving unprecedented economic opportunity and doing so faster than we ever anticipated.”

EDF RE and Google forged a relationship in December 2012, when Google made an approximate $200 million equity investment in EDF RE’s Spinning Spur Wind Project, located in Oldham County, Texas. The business partnership progressed in 2016 with the power purchase agreement for the Great Western Wind Project in Oklahoma which supplies Google with 225 MW of clean electricity.

EDF RE is a leading developer among corporate buyers of renewables which demonstrates the trust that environmentally-conscious companies place in EDF RE to deliver value. The Company’s growing North America portfolio of corporate purchasers includes Google, Microsoft, Salesforce, Procter & Gamble, Kimberly-Clark, Walmart and Yahoo.

Glaciers Edge will bring the EDF RE’s portfolio of wind project development in Iowa to 1.1 GW.